The two-week-long 52nd
session of the Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW 52) ends today in New York.

The main focus of CSW this
year was Financing for Gender Equality and
the Empowerment of Women. The commission
also looked at the themes of Gender
Perspectives on Climate Change and Gender
and HIV. In addition, it reviewed the status
of implementation at national level of the
recommendations on Women’s Equal
Participation in Conflict Prevention, Management
and Conflict Resolution and in Post-conflict
Peace Building, adopted at its 48th session
in 2004.

This year, as well as
Australia and New Zealand, six Pacific countries
sent delegations to CSW: Cook Islands, Fiji,
Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
This was a contrast to the poor Pacific turnout
at CSW last year, when, aside from countries
with permanent missions to the United Nations in
New York*, only Tuvalu sent a delegation.

As in the past, SPC, in
partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum
Secretariat, gave support for the countries’
active participation. Linda Petersen, manager of
SPC’s Human Development Programme, says there
was significant top-level representation, with
three cabinet ministers and four senior
officials: ‘Regrettably, no delegations were
represented by their finance or planning
agencies – but this was the case for most
delegations and is reflective of the huge amount
of work there is still to do in getting gender
equality issues mainstreamed into the key
decision-making agencies and processes of
government.’

Four Pacific non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) were also present in New
York.

The Pacific Islands Forum
group chair and representative to the UN, Her
Excellency Mrs Fekitamoeloa ’Utoikamanu,
Ambassador for the Permanent Mission of the
Kingdom of Tonga, says there are many benefits
for countries in attending international forums
such as CSW. The meeting gives countries an
opportunity to share their concerns and needs as
well as put forward the region’s position
regarding the themes discussed.

‘Countries can learn from the
experience of other countries in a similar
situation. They can also make the most of the
participation of major development partners,
financing agencies and NGOs who may respond to
their requirements,’ Mrs ’Utoikamanu says.

She says the role of Pacific
NGOs at CSW 52 has been very important and
national delegations have been collaborating
closely with them: ‘We have allowed NGO
representatives to review all the draft
statements we have prepared.’

With regard to the theme, Mrs
’Utoikamanu says Pacific countries do not rank
well: ‘We still have a long way to go in
mainstreaming gender into the budgeting system
across all sectors of the economy.’

A study commissioned recently
by SPC in preparation for CSW 52 shows that
financing for gender equality is a challenging
concept for the region. Specific data on
national levels of financing of gender equality
activities in the Pacific are relatively poor.
However, anecdotal evidence places the domestic
budgetary financing of gender activities at 1
per cent or less of the total budget of most
Pacific Island countries and territories.

To improve this situation,
Mrs ’Utoikamanu says Pacific countries need to
work with various partners: ‘In the Pacific,
domestic resources are limited. Therefore, one
option is to seek the assistance of development
partners and the private sector. Countries also
need strong engagement from NGOs.’

Following CSW 52, Mrs
’Utoikamanu says delegates need to get firm
engagements from their governments regarding the
meeting’s recommendations and resolutions: ‘The
next step will be to raise the issues at a
regional level so that national actions can be
complemented by regional intervention.’

The Commission on the Status
of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the
United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC),
dedicated exclusively to gender equality and
advancement of women. It is the principal global
policy-making body. Every year, representatives
of member states gather at United Nations
headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on
gender equality, identify challenges, set global
standards and formulate concrete policies to
promote gender equality and advancement of women
worldwide. This year, CSW was held from 25
February to 7 March.